Abstract
Objective
To examine whether selection of the nonparetic or paretic leg as the weight-bearing
leg in item 13 (standing unsupported one foot in front) and item 14 (standing on one
leg) of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) influences the item scores, and thus the total
score.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
University-based rehabilitation laboratory.
Participants
Community-dwelling people (N=63, aged ≥50y) with chronic stroke.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measure
BBS.
Results
The 4 BBS total scores ranged from 48.4 to 50.7. The total score was significantly
lower when a participant was asked to step forward with the nonparetic leg in item
13, and stand on the paretic leg in item 14. Fewer participants received a maximum
score with the BBS1 formulation than the others. In addition, the correlations with walking speed and
Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale scores were greatest with the BBS1 score.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that BBS1 was the most challenging formulation for our participants; this might serve to minimize
the ceiling effect of the BBS. These findings provide a rationale for amending the
BBS administration guidelines with the BBS1 formulation.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
ABC (Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale), AUC (area under the curve), BBS (Berg Balance Scale), FMA-LE (Fugl-Meyer Assessment–Lower Extremity), FTSTS (5 times sit-to-stand test), ICC (intraclass correlation coefficient), SLS (single-leg stance)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 18, 2015
Footnotes
Supported by the General Research Fund (reference number 562413) from the Research Grants Council, Hong Kong.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
